Master Pogacar has Tour de France peloton under his thumb

LA PLAGNE, France :Such is Tadej Pogacar’s domination on the Tour de France that what began as a frantic chase for stage wins has morphed into a racing masterclass - a reigning champion pulling the strings on his way to a fourth title.

Since the Slovenian declared he would not grant any freebies after he won four of the opening 13 stages, he has not crossed the line first and Friday's final mountain trek showed that he might have changed his mind along the way.

The UAE Emirates-XRG rider was just content with setting the pace in the final climb of Friday's 19th stage, a short yet brutal Alpine trek to La Plagne, letting Thymen Arensman celebrate a second victory this year after the Dutchman battled solo on the steep slopes through episodes of heavy rain in sub-10 degrees Celsius temperatures.

The contrast with Pogacar's almost effortless style on the last mountain day was striking as the three-time champion controlled chief rival Jonas Vingegaard, who appeared resigned to defeat.

"It started to be very long, especially with the weather today. I just want to go on the (team) bus and go take a hot shower, Pogacar told reporters.

"I tried (to attack once) as soon as (the) Decathlon (team) stopped with their hard pace. It was too early and nobody contributed to the chase of Arensman. So I just kept the pace and I was counting down the kilometres to Paris.

"I just set the pace that I felt comfortable with and if somebody would attack from my wheel, then I could still accelerate."

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He did not need to and did not bother to either in the finale, where any move by the 26-year-old would have obliterated Arensman's chances.

The same quiet authority was on display on Thursday on the Col de la Loze: no fireworks, just total